Smart watch with sleep monitoring. Fitness bracelets with smart alarm clock and heart rate monitor

There are more and more smart watches and fitness bracelets in the wearable devices market. Since almost everything possible functions for such devices have already been implemented by one manufacturer or another, some new market players are trying to attract buyers at a price. In other words, the price is reduced, and not always to the detriment of the functionality of the device. Xiaomi has released the most inexpensive solution in the fitness bracelet segment: priced at only $15. How functional is the device? Medgadgets will try to talk about this in the review.

Mi Band features

— Pedometer;
— Determination of distance traveled;
— Number of calories burned;
— Sleep tracker;
— Smart Alarm Clock, wakes you up in the light phase of sleep (Non-REM/N2);
— Unlocking the phone using a bracelet;
— Setting achievements in the form of the number of steps completed;
— 30 ​​days of battery life;
— Moisture protection standard IP67.

The fitness tracker comes in the form of an active module inserted into the bracelet; the delivery package also includes a data cable and Mi Band instructions in Chinese.

Design

The housing of the active module is made of plastic, with two contacts for charging on one of the faces. Not on the module functional organs controls, buttons or switches.

There are three LEDs installed on the top panel, which are designed to demonstrate the owner’s activity level or the bracelet’s battery charge. To view the achievement of set goals (for example, walk 5 thousand steps a day), you need to make a certain movement with your hand:

If 1 LED lights up, less than a third of the planned progress has been completed, 2 LEDs - more than 2/3, all LEDs light up when the plan is completed 100%.

The rubber strap fits your hand comfortably when worn.

Software

To start working with the bracelet, you need to install the proprietary MiBand (小米手环) application by downloading it from the company’s official market. The application is not Russified, interface languages: English and Chinese. The company is currently working on localization for the Russian language.

NB! The application only works with Android versions 4.3 and higher, plus a Bluetooth 4.0 LE module is required. If your smartphone does not have what you need Android versions and a communication module of this type, it will not be possible to work with the bracelet, the application will not install.

Pairing with a smartphone goes without problems; pairing codes are not requested.

Immediately after pairing, the bracelet's firmware is updated and the firmware is downloaded via the Internet. In the application profile for the bracelet, it is necessary to indicate the owner’s parameters: height, gender, weight, in order to be able to analyze the calories burned.

In addition, it is possible to set goals: the default is 5 thousand steps per day, this parameter can be changed.

The app shows you the weather, steps taken, distance traveled and calories burned during the day.

Social features of the application

The bracelet's software allows the owner to use various social applications to communicate with other device users. Currently only Chinese social media and applications: WeChat, WeChat Moments, QQ, QQ Zone, Sina Weibo.

If the bracelet hits the international market, the manufacturers will update the application, adding the ability to work with Facebook, VKontakte and other resources known to domestic users.

Sleep tracking

The bracelet copes with this function perfectly. Dark areas are visible in the screenshot big size- this is how the phases are marked deep sleep.

The orange segment is a short-term awakening.

Light gray segments - phases easy sleep, during which awakening will be the least painful. It is during the light sleep phase that the bracelet alarm goes off, if it is set by the user (a smart alarm clock is set for a certain period of time, for example, from 8:00 to 8:30). If the light sleep phase has not occurred, the alarm will still go off at the end of the set period so that the owner does not oversleep.

The bracelet is equipped with a vibration motor, the alarm goes off silently, and the vibration is sensitive.

Notifications

In addition to the smart alarm clock, the vibration motor on the Mi Band is triggered during an incoming call on the connected smartphone. This function can be useful when the smartphone is in silent mode.

Unlocking your phone

When connecting a smartphone to the bracelet, the functions of the smartphone are blocked if you leave the smartphone and walk a few meters away. This is done so that nosy colleagues or relatives cannot access the contents of the bracelet owner’s phone.

Characteristics of Mi Band

• Weight: 5 grams;
• Material: Aluminum + Plastic;
• Battery: Li-Po 41 mAh (stand-alone operation 30 days);

Bracelet:

• Weight: 8.5 grams;
• Material: Thermoplastic silicone;
• Size: 230mm;
• Adjustable length: 157-205mm.

Conclusion: the bracelet fully justifies its price of 15 dollars. The advantages of Mi Band can be attributed to the quality of workmanship, successful design, light weight, low price, for a long time works in offline mode, replaceable straps.

On to the cons It is worth considering the minimal functionality of the device, the lack of a display, not the most accurate filtering of random movements, and the (temporary) absence of a Russian-language application interface.

I've been interested in sleep trackers for a long time. These are apps and gadgets that monitor how you sleep, analyze your sleep stages, and wake you up in REM sleep, when your body is most ready to wake up. Similar applications simply flooded the App Store and Google Play. This is what Google Play returns when you search for sleep trackers. There are dozens of applications, and it is not clear whether they work or not.

Not long ago I spent time with a dream, and after some time it ended in failure. My body didn’t want to get up so early, and I didn’t want to force myself to do it. So I decided to try something new.

I bought the very popular Sleep Cycle app, which was a pioneer in sleep monitoring, and woke up with it for a week. This is what came out of it.

For Sleep Cycle to track your sleep, you need to place it right next to you. Then he will catch all your sighs, snores, rolls over and night trips to the toilet. Yes, the future has already arrived. The developers suggest placing the phone near your head so that the microphone can pick up all the noise.

Now to the dream itself. During the week I went to bed at different time from 11 pm to 1 am, setting the alarm for 7 am each time. The point is that the app doesn't wake you up at exactly 7 o'clock. Depending on whether you are in REM sleep or not, it will try to wake you up within half an hour. This is exactly what his job is.

On the first day I woke up very refreshed. Overjoyed, I thought that I had solved my long-standing sleep problem and now my life would change once and for all. The next day, failure awaited me. Half asleep, I turned off the alarm clock and slept for another hour and a half. Apparently, life will remain the same.

The next few days passed with varying degrees of success. I came to the conclusion that the application still works and the first couple of seconds of waking up go really well. The smoothly increasing melody also contributes to this. Thanks to her, you slowly, slowly come out of sleep and open your eyes. However, what to do next was unclear. The sensations are about the same as before: you definitely don’t want to get out of bed. And an application that warms you up instead of turning off the heating has not yet been invented.

Worst of all, the phone will have to be left connected to the charger overnight. I tried leaving the phone without charging a couple of times. 90% goes away overnight, that is, when charging the phone (iPhone 5) to the maximum, it will still be able to withstand the night.

Almost all sleep trackers also show graphs of how long each sleep phase lasted and what its quality was. Frankly speaking, I did not see any difference in well-being after a high-quality 97% sleep and a not so high-quality 69% sleep.

I haven't decided yet whether I will continue using sleep trackers. On the one hand, waking up is easier, but not much. Perhaps in long term they will be more useful. By the way, fans of “harmful waves” from the phone will also be unhappy, since the device will have to be kept near the head all night.

Should you try Sleep Cycle or another similar program for yourself? I think yes. Firstly, because they really help, albeit slightly; secondly, their effect may vary, and who knows, perhaps you will experience incredible benefits.

Perhaps I didn’t take something into account and sleep trackers are still much more useful? If so, then tell us about your experience using it in the comments!

Two years ago someone Christopher Winter I started writing about sleep monitoring in wearable devices. I started reluctantly: whether accurate or not, fitness trackers teach you to walk more often and sleep for the required eight hours. What more could you ask for from someone who spent a decade treating patients' insomnia and founded the Virginia Center for Sleep Medicine? But the neurologist got down to business - out of curiosity.

It took one night, one assistant and five gadgets, including one taped with duct tape, to reach the conclusions iPod Touch . The complex design on his hand would have prevented anyone from falling asleep, but not Vitner - he left for the kingdom of Morpheus within 9 minutes.

The plan was simple: compare sleep patterns from sports bands with polysomnography, a comprehensive medical test.

The idea could have turned into an exposé article, but the gadgets weren’t screwed up—only the program “ MotionX 24/7" on the iPod spit out complete nonsense.

In a publication on Huffington Post sleep guru called the most accurate watch Phillips for $600, but also more affordable Jawbone And Basis were close to the truth.

So how does it work?

Depends on the set of sensors in the housing. Primitive and cheap trackers use an accelerometer: they determine the sleep phase by muscle movements - a method called actigraphy.

Devices of a higher class monitor the heartbeat: as you fall into deep sleep, your pulse, blood pressure and body temperature decrease.

Smartwatches use the same sensors as fitness trackers, but work with an app platform for more options. For example, compatible with Pebble and for hours on Android Wear program " Sleep as Android» records snoring and slurred speech of the sleeping person. The problem is energy consumption - in just one night the client “eats” from 40 to 80% of the charge Moto 360. The remainder is not enough for a day's work.

Why is this necessary?

• For good health. Trackers not only monitor sleep stages, but choose the moment when it is easiest to wake up (the period between the first lung stage sleep and REM phase or rapid sleep). But to get to the right time, the alarm clock needs a long interval. With 30 minutes for “smart awakening” you can go wrong, as can be seen from the RIA chart.

• For comfort. The morning begins not with a ringtone or vibration of an alarm clock, but with a soft orange light, as if the sun is rising in the room. The day ends with a thick curtain of a “smart” mask, because there is a vacation in a distant country, and the accessory prevents jet lag. And this is not a sketch from a futuristic film, but the real thing. Mentioned Sleep as Android already compatible with smart lamps Philips HUE and its developers released the very same sleep mask with LEDs that, with backlight, train the body to stay awake at unusual times.

• And finally for discipline. Dr. Winter was right back in 2014: if a report about eternal lack of sleep makes you wonder whether it’s worth whileing away the weekend night at work - smart watch and bracelets allow mistakes. As long as they don't give me an electric shock. Although?..

Including in order to monitor your sleep, you probably immediately encountered the fact that the phase slow sleep It takes you a third of your time, and the fast one takes most of it, although it should be just the opposite. Many people immediately begin to think about how to fix this, get nervous and take sleeping pills, and sometimes the situation can be corrected. But in reality everything is much simpler, and you don't have to worry about your phases.

There are many more phases of sleep than two. I won’t dwell on them now - Wikipedia is here to help you - since it’s not that important. The important thing is that either the tracker does not correctly detect your phases, or you really are not sleeping well, and this needs to be sorted out. However, only an encephalogram, which will be taken throughout the night in sleep clinics, will tell you exactly about your sleep phases, and a tracker can never replace it. But with its help you can improve your sleep.

Does the bracelet count incorrectly?

Yes and no. In fact, it divides your entire sleep into two large parts - the one in which you twitched and moved (this, according to the tracker, is REM sleep), and the one in which you slept like a baby, practically without moving (this is in its eyes slow/deep sleep). But in fact, in the deep sleep phase you may well twitch, so the tracker will classify these intervals as fast sleep, but in fact the picture is completely different. As soon as you understand that the real phases of sleep and what the tracker considers as such are different things, then it will be easier for you to figure out how you sleep.

How to understand the quality of sleep?

Based on the feedback from many bracelet users, I have drawn a pattern: if your slow-wave sleep phases are long enough and there are 2-3 of them per night, then this means that you slept well. If there are many such phases and they are short, then you did not sleep very well. Those who have a fitness tracker at their disposal even gave these phenomena their own names - “bricks” and “fence”. For example, most often it’s the “fence” that happens to me, but in general I sleep quite poorly.

How long should the slow-wave sleep phase last to get enough sleep?

Well, you remember that slow-wave sleep in our case is what the tracker considers it to be, and not what it actually is. To get enough sleep, you need to have at least a third of the total volume of slow-wave sleep - this has also been empirically demonstrated in numerous forums. Yes, there is no smell of science here, but, again, go and sleep in a clinic if you want to know everything for sure.

For example, if I have 1-2 hours of slow-wave sleep, and they are also a good “fence”, then this means that I slept simply disgustingly and will feel exhausted during the day. All this was checked this way: in the morning I did not look at the application, so as not to know about the quality of my sleep, but at the same time I assessed my performance so that everything was unbiased. And in the evening I looked at the dream and compared it with my well-being. And this led me to exactly the conclusions that I publish in this material.

When you understand this whole intricate system, you will be able to fully monitor your sleep. You'll understand how much slow-wave sleep you need to feel normal, and you'll notice if that amount decreases or increases.

How to increase the duration of slow-wave sleep?

A little off topic of the site, but still :) How to sleep better? The recommendations are quite simple and you all probably know them:

1. Two hours before bedtime - no smartphones/tablets/computers, it is better to read a regular book or e-ink reader.
2. Temperature the room should not be too hot or too cold. In general, everyone has their own comfortable sleep temperature, but “on average in the hospital” it is 20 (plus or minus) degrees.
3. Ventilate the room before going to bed.
4. You can take a walk in the fresh air.
5. Don't eat a lot - two hours before bedtime, only a light dinner is acceptable.
6. The room should have complete darkness- no lights from modems, TVs or surge protector lights, you need to turn off absolutely everything.

You can meet more and more often a person with a plastic band on his wrist. And not only in the fitness room or on the treadmill in the park, but also in a non-sports environment. It is not glamorous enough to be worn for beauty, and it is not a medical device. Then what's the point?

Trackers: fashion for health

Health fashion is a bright sign of our time, like all gadgets, without which it is already difficult to imagine modern world. Fitness bracelets - know-how recent years, a successful combination of both trends in the next “smart” accessory of our lives. This is not an item of extreme necessity, but at the same time it is not a toy, not a trifle.

A bracelet placed on the pulse zone provides a kind of constant medical monitoring of the heart’s function.. Taking into account the readings of the device, you can balance the load, adjust rest periods and train effectively without overexertion.

Measurement heart rate- a mandatory, but not the only function of this wonderful device, which is otherwise called a tracker. Its capabilities are much wider. Depending on the intended functionality, there are several options for fitness bracelets.

With heart rate monitor and smart alarm clock

This bracelet will not only provide information about the heartbeat, but will also carefully wake you up. He will need to set an interval for waking up, and the alarm clock will choose the time for the alarm to sound, and the most suitable one.

How will he do this? While the owner is sleeping, the bracelet works, records changes in postures, reads sleep phases, and builds graphs. Then it selects the optimal moment for lifting. The bracelet knows when to wake up, so that the person wakes up well-rested and alert. Uses soft vibration for this, rather than loud music. This also applies nap, you just need to put the fitness tracker into sleep mode.

With heart rate monitor and blood pressure

Individual trackers focused on a fitness program are equipped with measurement sensors blood pressure. You shouldn’t trust the gadget 100%. Errors in readings can be significant. But medical accuracy is secondary here; changes in minimal and maximum performance HELL.

Bracelets with a tonometer function often represent a multi-tracker, a kind of mobile healthcare, since they can additionally determine the level of sugar and fluid in tissues, the mass of adipose tissue, breathing amplitude, and count calories. It is fair to admit that the correctness of measurements is not strong point universal trackers.

Smart pedometer - motivator of physical activity

Step counting is a basic function of fitness trackers. With its help you can develop individual program weight loss, find out about the number of meters traveled and calories burned. The daily number of steps is set arbitrarily. Upon reaching the goal, the bracelet will happily congratulate the owner on completing the plan. If he is lazy and not active enough, the electronic “controller” will remind him with vibration that it is time to leave his home.

Some models track and view physical activity: , roller skates, bicycle. They are also able to count steps and floors.

About amphibious bracelets

Especially for swimmers, the designers have developed bracelets that work properly at depth, and you can dive with them. In a waterproof bracelet, you can take a shower without fear of damage. But moisture protection does not apply to all models of these devices.. Despite the claimed water resistance, most only withstand the rain test.

With heart rate monitor for iPhone and Android

Fitness trackers work in tandem with a smartphone or computer. The parameters of human activity recorded by the sensors are transmitted via Bluetooth to a special application installed on the communicator. It is downloaded to manage the functionality included in the sports tracker. The application is the “brain” and statistical center of the device, and it is individual for bracelets different manufacturers. Tracker synchronization is also selective. Some operate in tandem with the Android or Apple iOS operating systems, others with the iPhone.

Work begins with setting up the application and designating the goals that you plan to achieve in a day. The indicator on the bracelet is designed to display the process in real time or show hours and minutes.

On your favorite mobile device you can view the entire statistical reporting log according to daytime and nighttime physiological indicators: how much you moved, whether you did sports and what kind of sports, how many calories you spent, how long and how well you slept. The bracelet, like an experienced and caring trainer, having analyzed the lifestyle of its owner, will create a training program or personal plan actions to promote health. And, what is important, it will constantly push you towards the goal.

How to choose the bracelet you need

For four years now, heart rate monitor bracelets have been walking and running with us literally hand in hand. An increasing number of manufacturers are mastering their production, and popular brands are including a new position in their catalogs. How to navigate the wide range of models and choose the right and useful one specifically for yourself? How not to overpay and, at the same time, purchase a quality item?

To start you need to decide what the bracelet is for, and which of its features are prioritized. Selection options worth paying attention to:

• Heart rate monitoring while running. A sports tracker with a heart rate monitor will do.
• Stimulation of daily activity. It is enough to have a simple model with a pedometer and counting meters traveled.
• Slimming bracelet. You need a calorie tracker that can count them. According to the entered data about the lunch or dinner eaten and based on the energy balance produced, the program will give a hint on how much a person who wants to lose weight needs to move.
• Regulating sleep and awakening. A bracelet with a vibration alarm function is what you need. It only wakes up the owner of the bracelet; others cannot hear it.
• Water protection. This rating ranges from waterproof to waterproof. The need for the latter is only for those training in the pool.
• External aesthetics. The display adds to the attractiveness of the trackers. It also reduces the operating time of the gadget without recharging. If a person only needs one screen—a smartphone—then he can do without these designer bells and whistles. But an indication of one type or another is desirable for convenience.

If there are several problems in your lifestyle and you want to solve everything at once, then it is recommended to choose not just a “smart” device, but a “reasonable” device, where the described functions are not only combined, but also expanded.

The ideal fitness bracelet, what is it like?

Before moving on to a review of fitness bracelet manufacturers, it should be noted that there are many more worthy trackers now than just a couple of years ago. Although it is difficult to point to a reference tracker, its criteria have been formed, and they are as follows:

• accurate readings without errors;
• synchronization with possible a large number operating systems(platforms);
• high-quality battery that works for a long time without recharging;
• advanced and easy-to-use application;
• protection from moisture;
• indication (the ability to track personal progress using LEDs);
• inconspicuousness and compatibility with clothing (neutrality of design).

Manufacturer comparison table

Brand	Jawbone UP24	Jawbone UP3	Sony SmartBand SWR10	Garmin Vivofit
Platform Compatibility	iOS, Android	iOS, Android	Android from 4.4	Android from 4.3 iPhone (iOS from 7), Windows, OS X
Screen				without backlight
Heart rate monitor				Separate strap for measuring pulse
Vibration
Protection	From the rain, you can't swim	Immersion up to 10 m	IP58 rating (dust and water resistant for prolonged immersion)	Class WR 50 Waterproof up to 50 m
Calorie monitoring		scans barcodes of consumed products
Smart alarm clock				Visual information
Peculiarities		An excellent activity motivator;	Tracks location, beeps if phone is forgotten, selects strap size;	Excellent battery-powered pedometer;
Working hours	10 days	7 days	5 days	1 year
Price (r.)	6000-6500	12500-13000	3000-3300	7000-7600
Brand	Fitbit Flex	Fitbit Charge HR	Gear Fit	Misfit Shine
Platform Compatibility	Android, iOS, Windows, OS X	Android, iOS, Windows Phone	Android for Samsung, Galaxy only	Android, iOS, Windows, OS X
Screen		LEDs	Amoled color touch
Heart rate monitor
Vibration
Protection	Only a shower can withstand	From splashes	IP 67 (dustproof, short-term immersion possible)	WR 50
Calorie monitoring
Smart alarm clock
Peculiarities	Pedometer, the percentage of activity is reflected by dot LEDs on the strap; small in size;	Accurate pedometer, but measures pulse correctly only with a stationary hand;	Notifications about calls, messages, there is a stopwatch and a timer	It has the appearance of a tablet (dial), fits a classic suit, can be attached to different places;
Working hours	5 days	5 days	2 days	4 months
Price (r.)	4400-5000	12000-13000	7000	4500-5000

Chinese fitness bracelets

Brand	Huawei TalkBand B1	Xiaomi Mi Band	Digicare ERI Replica Fitbit Force
Platform Compatibility	Android 4.4, iOS	Android 4.4, iOS	Android 4.4, iOS
Screen	Oled monochrome		Oled
Heart rate monitor			via phone
Vibration
Protection	IP57 Dust protected, short-term immersion possible	IP67	IP67
Calorie monitoring
Smart alarm clock
Peculiarities	USB connector, can be used as a Bluetooth 3.0 headset, notification of a missed call;	Bluetooth 4.0 LE connection	Bluetooth 4.0 LE connection, thermometer sensor, clock, SMS notifications.
Working hours	6 days	1 month	150 hours
Price (r.)	5000	1300-1400 (15$)	4500

China's manufacturers have also succeeded in this electronics sector. Practice shows that many bracelets are no worse in quality than branded ones. Among them there are blatant toys that do not deserve attention, but certain brands of trackers are already generally recognized.

So, leader of the budget sector - Xiaomi Mi Band. It can do everything the expensive Jawbone can do, but it costs a penny and works well. There are no serious complaints about Huawei TalkBand B1 either. All “Chinese” people, of course, don’t deserve five-star reviews. There are problems with stability in operation, the declared functions are missing, but more expensive models also suffer from this.